Welcome to the International Trade Administration’s Global Textiles, Apparel, & Sporting Goods industry webpage. This site is designed to provide your company with the most recent international industry market research, trade leads, and event information.

Our network of trade specialists and industry experts throughout the U.S. and in foreign markets abroad stands ready to help you increase your export sales by supplying you with essential market research and trade opportunities. This site will also keep you abreast of industry events such as educational seminars, tradeshows, and exhibitions. Please let us know how we can serve you.

Featured Events

March 31, China Outdoor Products Industry Webinar

In the lead up to the US Outdoor Lifestyle Roadshow to Beijing and Chengdu, June 2-7, 2015, the U.S. Commercial Service is pleased to announce a webinar on Tuesday, March 31 for U.S. exporters, focused on opportunities in China’s outdoor industry sector. The emergence of China’s middle class has given way to a new generation of leisure and adventure travelers as well as outdoor recreation and action sports enthusiasts. This trend is driving strong demand for high quality outdoor lifestyle products made/designed in the United States. According to the Xinhua News Agency, China’s outdoor market reached $2.9 billion in 2013, up 24.3% from 2012, and China is estimated to replace Europe to become the world’s second largest market for outdoor products in the next 8-10 years.

The emergence of the middle class in China has given way to a new generation of leisure and adventure travelers. This trend is driving strong demand for high quality outdoor lifestyle products made/designed in the U.S. The US Outdoor Lifestyle Roadshow to Beijing and Chengdu, June 2-7, 2015, will provide participating US companies the opportunity to gather market intelligence on outdoor retail models in China, including e-commerce and specialty retail; connect with Chinese outdoor products industry leaders, distributors and retailers; and showcase their products at a unique consumer expo in Chengdu, a leading geographic area for outdoor recreation and home to China's only national park.

Priority Market Videos- 58 percent of U.S. exporters export to only one market, mainly Canada. Many small and midsized companies that work with the U.S. Commercial Service have found new customers in dozens of markets. Among the best prospect markets for U.S. companies are Vietnam, India, Indonesia, China, Taiwan and Thailand. From the short videos on this page, you’ll learn why these markets are important. You’ll also learn about a few of the many sectors where U.S. companies are competitive. Importantly, you’ll also meet the top U.S. commercial diplomats in these markets who, along with their staff of local market and industry experts, will help you evaluate, enter and succeed.

Want to know what the top markets are? Check out the Top 25 Market Reports for Winter Apparel and Sporting Goods. Additional reports for other products available on request. Then check out the Country Reports for the top markets which provide provide comprehensive information including market conditions, best export prospects, financing, finding distributors, and legal and cultural issues.

Selected Market Reports

Market research and reports are available through the U.S. Commercial Service’s global network. Your local office can provide additional material and information specific to your products or services. Reports generally include points of contact, trade events, trade data, best prospects, and market demand.

Greece - The 1,200 businesses licensed to sell firearms in Greece, create an impression that the sector is quite large. In reality however, most stores handling hunting and fishing goods are small businesses. There is an emerging market for online retailers and importers of hunting and fishing goods.

Mexico - The Mexican textile industry is very sensitive to external and internal factors such as changes in the production model, inclusion of China and Asian competitors in WTO, antidumping, and counterfeit among others. Due to these reasons, U.S. exporters must be aware of key aspects and requirements for exporting to Mexico.

Japan - Japan is an important market for apparel. In 2010, the United States sold $244 million worth of apparel products to Japan, a 12.6% increase over 2009. Although overall consumption dropped significantly right after the earthquake/tsunami disaster in March 2011, consumption had levels recovered by June. The “fast fashion” boom has slowed down and now consumers are looking for something different. This is a good sign for American apparel suppliers. The $121.1 billion Japanese apparel market is open to imported apparel and does not have significant tariff or non-tariff barriers.

Canada - The Canadian fashion industry is quite small; 96% of the industry is SME’s, 38% with 1-4 employees and 58% with 5-99. However it is experiencing a revival, mainly because: There are few entry barriers; Little capital investment is needed; New niches continue to be found and expanded. Domestic production is steadily declining and there is a growing need for imports. Currently, 79% of apparel in Canada is imported. The demand is stable; manufacturing is decreasing while imports are increasing.

Ukraine - With a population of 45.8 million people, Ukraine is considered a promising and growing market for U.S. suppliers of textiles and apparel. The market size in this category is estimated at USD 2.8 billion, which is dominated by imports. The prospects for 2011-2015 are optimistic. U.S. market share, according to Global Trade Atlas statistics, has declined from 2.5% in 2009 to 1.7% in 2010. Ukraine can be an attractive place for outsourced fabrication.

Japan - The size of the Japanese production of high performance industrial fibers is estimated at US$5.9 billion. Despite current economic conditions, the world and Japanese markets are expected to grow over the next few years. High tech industrial fabrics for medical products, renewable energy and environmental products, transportation, and safety and protective products may have good potential in Japan.

Korea - Despite there being an economic downturn last year, Korea’s apparel industry has shown steady growth during the last few years with the rapid embrace of both foreign and local fashions, evolving retail channels, and an increasingly wider variety of apparel in the marketplace. Koreans are very brand conscious. Whether they are high end brands or American casuals, Korean consumers demand global fashion brands and they are heavily influenced by what Korean and Hollywood stars wear. Thus, very high-end products were never affected by the recession in Korea.

Poland - The apparel market is considered very campaign driven. Poles are highly receptive to marketing and advertising. The purchasing power of Polish consumers is rising steadily and the average Polish consumer can afford to and does spend more on clothing and footwear. They are becoming increasingly fashion conscious, and demanding higher quality and more sophisticated products.

Japan - U.S. companies who are interested in entering the market should have excellent business controls, dependable communication and the ability to produce and ship their products on time in addition to a unique and exciting collection of apparel. U.S. apparel exports to Japan have been increasing for the last three years and have shown more than a 10% increase for the first six months of 2010.

Saudi Arabia – This report focuses on the high-end segment of the apparel market, which is dominated by imports from Europe and the United States.

Taiwan - If you consider expanding your business overseas, Taiwan should be high on your agenda. Taiwan consumers spend approximately 3.5 – 4.0 percent of their household income on apparel.

View a Trade Data Snapshot

Below are links to view trade data snapshots for selected NAICS codes. Additional trade data is available through the TradeStats Express Database.

The U.S. Commercial Service to the EU will host a webinar on September 18, 2013 for U.S. manufacturers and users of nanomaterials that will discuss upcoming changes to EU legislation that will impact these companies' abilities to export products to the region.
For this webinar, the Commercial Service at the U.S. Mission to the European Union is fortunate to call on the legal and scientific expertise of the American-based law firm Steptoe & Johnson.
Their lawyers and scientists will address the following issues:
• How does the European Union define nanomaterials for regulatory purposes?
• What regulatory requirements must manufacturers of nanomaterials comply with?
• What regulatory requirements must companies using nanomaterials in their products comply with?
• How do U.S. exporters ensure that their products are compliant?